Monster's Ball

Rating:
Summary: Extremely overrated
Review: Tragic and dramatic in that "beat the viewer over the head" way. About as subtle as Kelsey Grammer is these days. Thornton does a better job than Berry - but sadly, I am not always sure that he is acting in this one. Berry has one fine scene in a truck, but when you can catch a 60 sec. sequence and say:"oh, she was really good there," that's not Oscar worthy. BTW: The sex scene really does not deserve the attention it received. Rent only.

Rating:
Summary: Monster's Ball?
Review: I really appreciated this movie. I can understand why it won Halley Berry an Oscar. However, it could have stood on its own, without the steamy sex scene or Hank's (Thornton) oral sex scene. And from where did the title come?

I loved the way the ending keeps you guessing. "What will Letitia (Berry) do?" one wonders. Will she confront Hank with her newly discovered information? Will she kill Hank and bury him in his son's grave that sits newly dug in the yard? Lonely and disillusioned, will she kill herself? Will their relationship survive? What's next for the two of them?

This movie is a keeper. I will watch it again and again!

Rating:
Summary: Monster's Ball-A Great Interracial Drama
Review: After seeing Monster's Ball, I was very pleased and happy.
The film was very enjoyable and featured strong and highly powerful as well as emotional performances, specifically from Halle Berry. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and I definetly agree that she should have won, for her acting was more than astounding, it was superb. Billy Bob Thorton also stars, and performs well as well as Heath Ledger who plays his son in the film. Monster's Ball is about two people who connect in an odd and bizarre way, Thorton plays a prison guard named Hank and Berry plays a waitress named Leticia. Recently her husband was executed by Thorton's character in prison, and soon Hank and Leticia fall in intimate love, which is very strong and compassionate. The film has a simple and essentially easy plot but with it brings very significant performances which are very memorable and commemorative. Halle Berry was amazing and God is she gorgeous. Monster's Ball is rated R for Strong Sexual Content, Violence and Language. The film features a few very graphic and highly explicit sexual situations, as well as profanity and some violence including fistfights, brief gun violence and an electrocution. I feel this film can be tolerable for anyone but specifically someone who is very sensitive and of course likes films with a category of drama. This is an amazing film with one of the years best performacnes and truly magnificent acting, that is beyond remarkable, simply dazzing. Now available to own on Video and DVD, the DVD features
acceptable features from Director's Commentary to Behind-the-Scenes, a trailer and some others. Though the film is entertaining and in my opinion, a definite must own! Own one of the YEAR'S BEST FILMS, MONSTER'S BALL!

Rating:
Summary: Cookie-tossing and such.
Review: Marc Forster's *Monster's Ball* begins with Billy Bob Thornton tossing his cookies before starting his work-day as a corrections officer at the good ol' Death Row job-site. It continues with his son Heath Ledger (also a corrections officer) engaging the sullen services of the local hooker in between swigs of Jack Daniels. We're then introduced to the Old Man of the family, Peter Boyle (ALSO a corrections officer), chaired by emphysema, who spouts things like "in my day, there was none of this MIXING [between blacks and whites]". Next, we meet the family of Puff Diddly (or whatever he's calling himself these days), who visit him at Death Row on the day before his death sentence is carried out. Halle Berry is the angry ex-wife; their 10- or 12-year-old son is morbidly obese and draws pretty pictures, just like his condemned daddy. The Day finally arrives: Puff Diddly is executed, but not before Heath Ledger tosses his cookies during the Last Walk. This enrages his dad Billy Bob. As a result, Heath kills himself with his father's own service revolver, right in the family living room. Meanwhile, the fat kid gets mowed down while he and his mother are walking along the side of the town's highway . . . at night . . . during a rainstorm. Blessedly, the hit-and-run is kept off-camera -- perhaps Forster decided that we might have reached our limit. I KNOW I had reached mine. In other words, it's all a BIT MUCH. *Monster's Ball* batters us insensate with its "hard-hitting grittiness" before it's even half-over. What to do for an encore? Well, tell the story you should've focussed on in the first place: the thorny development of an interracial romance. The movie does improve somewhat during the second half, once everyone calms down and tries to be real. (Though Billy Bob DOES toss his cookies one more time in the morning after making love to Halle, as a sort of reminder that this is still a "hard-hitting Etc.") I also rather liked the ambiguous ending. But taken as a whole, the movie simply tried to damn hard.

Rating:
Summary: I would have given it ZERO stars but that wasnt an option
Review: This movie was horrible! A Grammy should NOT have been awarded for this movie... I have my theory on the Grammy that was given to both Halle and Denzel.. But I will say this, Denzel is a wonderful actor and did a great job in Training Day and should have been given a Grammy way BEFORE Training Day!!... The sex scene may have been a vital part of the movie but was not needed to that degree. The acting was horrible, and I am so glad I was able to sell my DVD back to the store!......

Rating:
Summary: Poignant? Deep? Not in my opinion
Review: I've heard a few too many reviews where they characterise this movie as "Sexy" or "character drama"

Right... what was sexy? the scenes where the hooker walks in strips bends over not bothering to set down her shot and is out the door in under a minute with a "see you next week"? Oh, wait was that the "character drama" part?

Sorry for my immense sarcasm here, just finished the movie with 3 friends and looked it up and read generally good reviews of it, we all decided we needed to have some input.

I guess the main disagreement we had with the reviewer was over type of movie, there is a genre of film that takes white trash with little going on and films it, call it reality trailer tv. The realism of this genre is indisputable, however, it lacks in even the base entertainment value of shiny lights or MTV.

All in all, if you enjoyed this film, congratulations, if you are looking for a movie to buy, I highly recommend you look elsewhere. Oh, unless you enjoy the average person genre, with little going on but erm a character study.

Rating:
Summary: One Of The Best Ever
Review: One of the greatest movies I ever seen. Billy Bob and Halle at their finest. Its a shame the media sensationalized the notorious love scene before and during the theatrical release because it was only a part of the story. The emphasis wasn't really on the sex act but a vehicle for the two characters to vent their emotions and feelings about the tragic events in their lives. A very powerful scene in the car (before Leticia asks Hank to come inside) where Hank had a hard time getting the words out while explaining why he helped Leticia and her son. He had to come to grips with his own humanity (rather than his racist roots) and the feelings he started to feel for her. You can can see Leticia realizing this and her facial expression gradually changes from apprehension to acceptance. One of the most powerful scenes I ever seen. There is also a great commentary with Halle and Billy Bob thats worth the price of the DVD alone.

Rating:
Summary: Awful, Awful, Awful
Review: Quite possibly the most tedious film I have seen, I am utterly mystified by the hype surrounding it. The acting is wooden and not believable - both Thornton and Berry have done far better in other roles - and the story, while professing to be a gritty and realistic drama, is more like a cynical attempt to introduce sensitive issues such as race and the death penalty in order to make the film seem like a social commentary rather than a shallow and boring look at 2 unbelievable and hypocritical characters. Simply put, save your money

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: This movie sparked my imagination. Hallie Berry is simply wonderful. It's got something for the whole family. Its got sex for Mom. The wonderful hats for dad. The car for grandpa. The eating out for grandma. The fat kid dying for the little tykes. Go see this movie. The kids will thank you someday. There is alot of whoredom in it which makes it a must see for the family. Youl treasure the pleasure. And as the old catholic saying goes, Girls have a button, and boys a poll. And wicked touching taked it's toll. Youll thank me someday. Well, I have to go watch this movie again. Get the unrated version for extra laughs. Try watching it with the T.V. off. Youll hear some exotic food sampeling. Youll love it.

Rating:
Summary: Hmmm...is the only word to describe this film.
Review: "Monster's Ball", directed by Marc Forster, is a film about loss, love, and dealing with pain. Hank (Billy Bob Thornton), is a prison guard who is working on Death Row. At first, Hank doesn't seem to like blacks, but that all changes when a black man (Sean "P.Diddy" Combs) is put to death. He has a strained relationship with his son, Sonny (Heath Ledger) who also works as a Death Row prison guard at the same prison, and elderly father. It turns out that the black man who was put to death was the husband of Leticia (Hallie Berry), a black woman who works as a waitress at the restuarant Hank always goes to at the end of the day. After Sonny committs suicide because he feels his father doesn't love him, Hank quits the prison guard job and opens up a gas station. During all of this, Hank comes across Leticia who is also suffering from the loss of her husband and the death of her child who was hit by a car. They unexpectedly fall in love, and learn to live with their losses and each other.

Great performances from the entire cast...especially Hallie Berry; she deserved the Oscar. But the film itself isn't really all that entertaining. I found "In The Bedroom" much more entertaining than "Monster's Ball" and "In The Bedroom" moved even slower. Basically the three extra stars in my review are given to the performances by Hallie Berry, Billy Bob Thornton, and Heath Ledger. Too many boring scenes in this film. Unfortunately, because this could have been a really good film. The DVD is pretty average: behind-the-scenes footage, audio commentaries, and deleted scenes and outtakes. This DVD is available in wide screen format.

I recommend "Monster's Ball" for the great performances...